


Path of the Samurai

by n_a_s_u



Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: "Devil" ending, Alternate Ending, And finally eat a good meal, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Goro would like to fix everything, M/M, Streetkid!V, V is not signing the contract
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:41:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28409409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/n_a_s_u/pseuds/n_a_s_u
Summary: After their last mission together Goro visits V again to tell him something really important. And maybe to eat a good yakitori finally if the young man accepts his offer.This is a continuation of the game’s “Devil” ending, which means it contains huge SPOILERS. So please only read it if you reached the game’s end as well.I really felt the need to write this fix-it fic because seriously… that damn ending crushed me. ;_; Hope you like it!
Relationships: Goro Takemura & Male V, Goro Takemura/Male V, Goro Takemura/V
Comments: 14
Kudos: 91





	Path of the Samurai

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [A szamurájok útja](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/733764) by Nasu. 



**Takemura** – 18:10 [Meeting]  
Hello, V.

 **Takemura** – 18:12 [Meeting]  
Would you mind meeting me?  
I would like to discuss an important matter if you are still willing to talk to me after our last time.

 **Takemura** – 18:15 [Meeting]

  
It's me... If you didn't have my number anymore.

 **V** – 18:16 [Meeting]  
Goro, you shouldn’t be in Japan right now?  
What happened, didn’t get the promotion in the end? :)  
  
 **Takemura** – 18:18 [Meeting]  
I will tell you soon if you give me a chance. Please, V, come to Japantown.  
You will find me at that horrible food stall where those plastic things are sold.

 **V** – 18:19 [Meeting]  
At which one? I thought all the food stalls were horrible where we’ve ever eaten

 **Takemura** – 18:21 [Meeting]  
You’re right, Night City’s offering for meals has been the most awful and distasteful I’ve ever tried, with a complete lack of sophisticated taste!  
The keyword is yakitori.  
Please, search for the keyword "terrible yakitori" and you will find the place where I’m waiting.

 **V** – 18:40 [Meeting]  
terrible yakitori Night City  
  
 **V** – 18:40 [Meeting]  
inedible yakitori cheap  
  
 **V** – 18:40 [Meeting]  
spoiled yakitori dumplings  
like this?  
  
 **Takemura** – 18:45 [Meeting]  
I can only say one thing for this:  
"Even when a samurai hasn’t eaten, he holds his toothpick high."  
\- An ancient Japanese saying   
  
**V** – 18:45 [Meeting]  
Geez, thank you… whatever it means, my day is going to be so much better now  
I’ll be there soon!

 **Takemura** – 18:46 [Meeting]  
Yakitori, V.  
Don’t forget: look for the cheap and terrible yakitori!

**& &&**

V, of course, exactly knew where Goro would be waiting for him. The bazaar in Japantown was etched in his memory forever, not even the removal of the biochip could erase from his mind the colorful lanterns of the streets or the smell of oil mixed with typical Asian spices. V had eaten several times at the stall in question - to his shame -, and did not find the yakitori, described by Takemura as "plastic", as terrible. Growing up on the street one learns not to be too picky.

Arriving at the bazaar, Goro was leaning against the same railing as last time. The man watched the food stall next to him with a grimace as if that unfortunate vendor had offended him personally by preparing such horrible food for the residents of Night City.

There was nothing unusual in the whole scene, yet V froze all over his body as he saw the man.

_Jesus. The time has really come. Did my brain completely go flatline and I finally went crazy? Or did I manage to travel back in time?! What the hell?_

Goro Takemura wore the same street clothes as during his “loss of grace”. There was no trace of his elegant gray bodyguard outfit which he always wore so proudly with his head held high. Although V thought this street ghetto style was fitting him so much better (Goro looked like some kind of cyber-samurai), he still wouldn't have expected the man to appear before him like that.

"V! Thank you for coming," Goro turned to him with a confidential smile on his face, and everything else vanished from V’s head as he saw the man’s kind expression.

_After all that happened, how can he smile at me like that?_

"Goro, what the hell are you doing in Night City? And what the fuck is this look again?" V asked with a false grin as he slapped the man's arm as a greeting but immediately lowered his eyes. He didn’t understand why, but his heart was once again flooded with a strange mixture of shame and resentment, just like at the space station. Even though Goro remained true to his word, they fought shoulder to shoulder till the very end, the whole thing still meant nothing. V will die the same way in a few months, and even if his dignity remained in the end, he could wipe his ass with it. Although Johnny was no longer in his head to speak to his mind, he could still hear his voice clearly each day.

"I told you, V. I fucking told you not to trust the corpos… And here you are again, meeting with this Arasaka dog."

"V…" Takemura pulled him back to reality. The man spoke softly to him, probably noticing his struggle. He stepped closer carefully.  
  
"Listen, what would you say if we go to a real Japanese restaurant and continue talking there? Or…" Goro paused thoughtfully for a moment, putting his weight from one leg to another. It seemed he was hesitating.  
"If you feel like it, we can look for a terrace or a rooftop and order a pizza. I can't believe I offer such a thing myself. But for your sake I am agreeing to order pizza, you can choose any kind of topping you have in mind. What do you think?"

V immediately raised his head. Goro continued to smile at him, sincerely and with those kind silver eyes which sparkled so softly that you knew right away that he couldn’t be a bad person. However, V became more and more confused and suddenly felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He began to have a really bad feeling. This offer was too generous, too good to be true.

"What's this all about now, Goro?" He burst out suddenly and he didn't care that he raised his voice in such a busy part of the city. "Saburo wants to give me some shitty job, right? Is that what this is about? Did he ask you to soften me first?" V didn’t want to believe that was the truth but his instincts told him that there could be no other explanation for this sudden meeting.  
"My answer is still _no_ for everything. I've already said that. I am not going to be a puppet of Arasaka, never again. I owe that much to myself!”

_And to Johnny. For fuck’s sake!_

He didn't want to think about Johnny again, but sometimes he really missed that idiot asshole’s harsh comments. Johnny would have told him by now to leave the Arasaka bodyguard and get the fuck away from him.

Goro's gaze narrowed in disappointment at his reaction. As if he hadn't expected this outburst from him at all.

"Can't two comrades just meet and have a meal together? Must be there some ulterior motive?” He asked, also raising his voice but he rather sounded weary. A mocking laugh broke out from V abruptly. _Is he serious?_

"There's no such thing in our profession as ‘just meet and have a meal together’, you know that! There is always an ulterior motive."

"This time I am not here to offer you a job, V, believe me."

"Yeah. Then what could be so important that you have to tell me in person?" V leaned forward on the railing doubtfully. He hadn't smoked at all in the recent days, but somehow he had the urge to light a cigarette now. "Whatever it is, just drop the bullshit and tell me right now, Goro. Let's just get over it."

Goro made a really tortured face next to him, possibly needing that damn cigarette even more than him. V felt a little bit ashamed for his reaction. Maybe he shouldn’t have treated the man so harshly, but this whole conversation was so damn suspicious, that he just wanted to know as soon as possible what it was all about. Afterward, maybe they can eat some cheap Japanese food imitation but let the bad news come first.

Next to him, Goro looked at him hesitantly for a while, vacillating heavily what to do. Eventually, he made his mind and sighed. He stepped closer to V, then leaned over the railing beside the young man. Beneath them, the city shone with its colorful lights.

"After we talked at the space station and you left me there alone with my conscience… I thought a lot about what you told me, V. About life and the meaning of life, submission and dignity. About freedom." Goro began softly, and this time he was the one who needed to avoid his gaze. He watched the buzzing city beneath them.

"Even then, I wondered if something was wrong with my chosen path, that I was not on the right way. Then, three weeks later, there was an incident that convinced me once and for all to do something. To change my destiny and take control over my life." Goro's voice trailed off for a moment, but then he raised his silver eyes to V. His deep gaze almost took V’s breath away.

"I left Saburo-sama's service two days ago. It was not a pleasant departure, Hanako-sama sent Oda-san after me to end my life, but I managed to get away alive. Roughly." A painful smile appeared on Goro’s face.  
"It would have been good if you were there and saw our encounter. I took care of Oda with a katana, he was a worthy opponent. But I spared his life in the end, just like you, V."

"What the hell did you do?!"

V felt that his world turned upside down. What the hell is Goro talking about?! The extremely loyal, respectful, traditionalist and naive Goro Takemura? Would he really have left and betrayed the man he had served all his life and looked up to more than anyone else?! Did he really leave his work, the Arasaka, the meaning of his whole life?! What the hell is going on?

"Not so loud!" Goro whispered as he looked around nervously, then back to V. "Are you willing to go somewhere with me now? Here in the bazaar, even the railing has ears."

V just laughed in his agony.

"Jesus, we say 'the walls have ears’, not the railing.” He shook his head in disbelief as he tried to process what he had heard before. Goro betrayed Saburo Arasaka. He betrayed the whole Arasaka corporation! _Jesus._ This is fucking unbelievable. For this news, it was already worth getting another half year in his life.

"Goro, please tell me it's not a fucking Japanese joke I don't understand again, is it? Please tell! How the he…"

Goro grabbed his wrist in a warning this time and the words died immediately on his lips.

"Shh, I told you to not speak here! Will you come with me then or not?"

The man's eyes suddenly became so pleading and helpless that V couldn't find the words for a moment. He felt the need to take him seriously.

"All right, I'm leaving with you," he said softly, then gathered himself and pulled his wrist out of the other man’s grip. He didn't laugh anymore, but he still shook his head in disbelief. "Okay… you know what? Let's get the hell out of here but instead of chilling on some rooftop, let's go over to my place. I think we need to order a minimum of forty sushi rolls and two bottles of sake for this."

Goro was visibly relieved by his response and finally completely relaxed beside him as if a dead weight had been pulled down his shoulders so far. A small smile appeared on his face again.

"I have sake. I wanted to honor you for meeting and listening to me,” he pointed to one of the inside pockets of his jacket, from which a wide glass’s neck peeked out. He grinned proudly. “I prepared to drink."

V grinned the same way. It was ridiculous that Goro, who was fair and honest to his core, was now showing him a bottle of sake tucked into his coat’s pocket in the middle of Night City’s filth. Somehow, however, it came to him as no surprise at all, not after talking about fast food and ghost cats on a rooftop weeks ago like they were average, ordinary people. Now it felt like that strange mood was surrounded them again.

V crossed his arms in front of him, then pointed at the glass.

"Do you know what? Instead of sake, you can honor me by stop being so damn polite with me all the time. After rescuing each other’s asses and after the two of us confronted alone a hundred Arasaka soldiers, cyber psychos, and Adam Smasher… well after all this shit you don’t need to 'honor me' with anything." 

At first, Goro was quite dumbfounded. Scanning with his silver eyes, he stared at V — perhaps seeking whether he was really serious or just teasing him again — but then, after a few moments, the usual warmth and softness that always defined his features came back to his face again. He pulled slowly back from the railing, raised one hand to his chest then bowed deeply in front of V respectfully — and perhaps with a cunning smile on his face.

"As you wish, V," he closed his eyes for a moment, giving his full respect to the other man, then straightened his body with the same smile. V wouldn't have thought he'd be so embarrassed by such a gesture, but damn it… he croaked and turned his head.

"Damn it, you are really a sly fox, Goro… fucking unbelievable,” he crossed his arms in front of him, unhappily, trying to keep his figure together. Goro didn't answer, but it was clear from his sneaky face that he knew exactly how his excessive politeness was affecting the young man. V ran his fingers through his hair and smiled mockingly.

"I think we'll just order pizza instead of sushi," he said with as much harshness as he could manage, then turned around and started walking across the bridge to the elevators.

Goro followed him without a word, a huge grin was spreading on his face.  
  


**& &&**

After arriving at V's apartment, they ordered forty sushi rolls in addition to the pizza.

Of course, Goro immediately made a few unasked remarks about the size of the maki rolls, then "I am sure this wasn’t made by real sushi masters" and "did you know that this profession is learned at home for many years? It is a shame that any amateur is being hired these days and our traditions are being humiliated." Nevertheless, he had already eaten at least seven rolls of the salmon ones, and V watched in amusement how the man handles the chopsticks professionally and his hand did not even waver for a moment. Meanwhile, three glasses of sake had gone down their throats already, and the drink was still burning the young man's stomach.

He usually didn’t drink such strong alcohol, he preferred beer instead of shots, but after all the news he learned it was not a question that he needed something more poisonous. On the other hand, the sake tasted surprisingly good, not as unbearably scratching as a cheap vodka or tequila, but rather soft and silky. It suited Goro perfectly, as did the stupid, thin, delicate little chopsticks.

“Do not point anywhere with the chopsticks while talking, and never stab them in the food. If you don’t eat anymore, don’t put them on the edge of the plate but on the soy sauce's tray. These are the most important rules if you would like to remain a gentleman,” Goro taught him seriously as he knocked his fourth glass of sake back. Until then, his chopsticks rested impeccably on the said tray next to the soy sauce in which wasabi was not mixed, unlike in the bowl of V, who, of course, made a huge sin against the Japanese culture by that. The young man snorted in amusement.

"You Japanese people have a rule and a piece of wisdom for everything, don't you? Can I eat it with my hand, or that’s also a deadly sin?"

"It’s free to eat with your hand," Goro nodded in agreement, then frowned slightly. "But it's not very elegant if you ask me."

"I don’t give a shit how elegant it is," V laughed as he grabbed one of the tempura crab rolls by hand and began to chew cheerfully. "There are too many rules for chopsticks. At least if I am eating with my hand I am not hurting anyone’s feelings, right?"

Goro watched with discontent as he spoke with his mouth open, but in the end, he just sighed forgivingly.

"Even if you did hurt our feelings, we wouldn't say it," he crossed his arms as he looked out the window of V's apartment. His face suddenly frowned. "We'd rather keep our anger inside until we're overflowing with it. Then we end up releasing everything from ourselves like a windstorm."

The man's remark was followed by a deep silence.

V knew he wasn't talking about the food anymore but was referring to some kind of other insult. Until now, they hadn't talked about Arasaka or their work at all - for that matter, Goro hadn't even let them, and V hadn't forced it - but now he felt like they couldn't avoid the topic anymore.

"Hey, Goro," V began carefully as he pulled back from the coffee table and looked into the man’s grim face. "Are you finally telling me why you decided to leave behind that power-obsessed Arasaka asshole?"

V didn't want to be so crude, but he was simply unable to restrain himself. Again, he was overwhelmed with bitterness as he remembered the events of a few weeks ago, when the old bastard had the nerve to send a contract with Goro, asking him to sell his soul to Arasaka. Like literally.  
A grimace sat out on V's face as their last conversation spun before his mind’s eyes again.  
"You know, I thought we'd never see each other again. Your faith was so deep in that crazy old bastard. I never expected you to finally turn away from him."  
  
Goro became gloomier and his features hardened even more. This wound was probably still very fresh and he didn’t deal with it as easily as he tried to act on it. However, as always, he did not deny V an answer. He poured himself a glass of sake again, then stared deeply at the drink before speaking.

"I owe a lot to Saburo-sama, almost my whole life," he began measuredly, holding the glass in his hand. "He pulled me out of the filth, out of the streets, I owe it to him that I became the man you know by now. I was a young kid when I made a vow to serve him all his life and follow him wherever his path led him." Goro paused for a moment, then shook his head in shame. His voice was trembling with emotion, and V could see that it was difficult for him to speak.  
"Actually, if I had been true to my vow, I would have ended my life two days ago since this is the greatest betrayal I have been able to commit against him and the Arasaka family…"

Goro suddenly knocked the drink back, then slammed the glass on the coffee table. V perhaps still did not understand why he was so strongly attached to that old man and to that whole cursed company, but it became crystal clear to him what this decision meant to the man's life. In his culture respect and loyalty to the family meant everything, and after such a "betrayal" it would have been natural and almost expected to end his life.

_Expected, my ass. That damn old dickhead doesn't deserve anything. Especially not Goro's loyalty and life._

"Saburo died at the Konpeki Plaza, Goro. He was killed by his own son." V didn't even notice that he was clenching his fist. "You kept your vow, that old dick should never have come back to life. It is not normal for him to play god over the fucking world, it is not normal to take control over his own son’s body and act like some immortal emperor!" The young man almost spat out the words. He wanted to sweep everything aside from the coffee table in front of them, he had become so angry. "It's so disgusting! Who will be his next victim, his own grandchildren? Or Hanako? Perhaps you?"

V couldn't stop himself this time, he took the metal box of cigarettes out of his pocket. He had to light one stick, he couldn't drop this stupid habit, even now he was completely separated from Johnny. He held out his wallet to Goro to offer him one as well, but the man just shook his head. Instead, he sighed heavily.

"I can see that now, V. With a heavy heart, but I finally realize how naive and stupid I was. And if it was the only sin that weighed Saburo-sama’s soul…" Goro shook his head bitterly, then poured himself a sake again. While V let out a cloud of smoke between them, the man preferred the good old alcohol as a sedative. But he didn’t look like he was affected by the drink at all. He continued to squeeze the glass in his hand.

"As I said before, it’s been three weeks since we met at the space station before I finally heard a conversation I shouldn’t have heard at all. Saburo-sama had a private conversation with one of the scientists who was working on the Relic project."

"And?" V asked as Goro fell silent again for a long moment. Those silver eyes stared at him hesitantly, and V had a very bad feeling again. And his instincts didn’t let him down this time.

"They lied to you," Goro finally burst out, his face became darker than before. "The biochip which contained Silverhand personality construct was not destroyed permanently. They kept it for themselves."

"What the fucking hell?!" V exclaimed, and jumped off the floor almost immediately. He pressed the cigarette nervously under his feet as he felt his head is going to explode again. "These damn fucking assholes, I can't believe this! What the hell did these filthy rats do?!"

V yelled in rage and started walking up and down around the small smoking table. _I don't fucking believe this! This is a fucking never-ending nightmare!_

"Saburo-sama has been interested in the strange 'failure' of the Relic and your long connection with Johnny Silverhand. He wants to do more experiments…" Goro didn't look at V, but his face showed the disappointment and contempt he felt in his heart. "He wants to explore whether a perfect symbiosis is possible, the coexistence of several personalities in a single body, or even… the perfect fusion between minds." Goro's forehead twitched, and for a moment it seemed as if he was horrified by the thought.  
"If he could fuse the minds of exceptional scientists into one… or even the minds of the best soldiers…" The man stopped for a moment. Now it really showed on his face how much it hurt him his boss’s decision, the path he had chosen for himself. That he could not remain faithful to him, as he had wished by all his heart.

"Saburo-sama has become completely obsessed, V. Now I can see that this is not the right path. He made a deal with the Devil, and no mortal man should do that. No one should have such power over the lives of others!"

Goro was shaken by his own words and this time he stopped restrain himself. With a "Damn it!" he grabbed the whole sake bottle and drank from it. V did not blame him at all.

_What the fuck? What the actual fuck?_

"Are you saying Johnny's alive? I mean… his biochip is still being used by others? Are they experimenting with it to see if they can fuse his consciousness with someone else?" V's face distorted into a terrified expression just as Goro's a few moments ago.  
"Jesus, do they want to create a superterrorist out of him and others, who serves as a loyal weapon to Arasaka?"

V wanted to laugh again. Will this whole fucking nightmare ever end? Can’t they give some peace to Silverhand? Even if his soul was not contained in that fucking chip, even if he died fifty years ago… his consciousness was still alive, he was able to feel, he was able to think and make his own decisions. From wherever V was looking at it, it was a fucking endless torture.

_That's not what he deserves. Even if he was a jerk who made some mistakes in his life. That's not what he deserves._

V hoped that Goro might disprove him somehow, but the man just nodded grimly.

"Yes, that's exactly their goal. But fortunately, Saburo-sama's plan has failed so far. Silverhand could not cooperate with any of the subjects, all attempts have failed so far. He was thrown out of every subject's body or their synapses simply burnt out."

"Of course their fucking synapses burnt out!" V laughed this time. He was surprised at the sudden reassurance that came to his heart. _Thank god, that bastard is still himself after all._

"That stubborn asshole will never let anybody control him against his will! And he certainly won’t let anyone put him in somebody’s head again… he almost even killed me when we first met."

V smiled painfully at the memory. How much he fought to get the man out of his head to finally stop the provocative, wild thoughts… and in the end they had almost become friends who fought together, just as V fought next to Goro. Even now, V wore the ID tags around his neck that he had received as a gift from Johnny.

His hand automatically wrapped around the chain now, a thought suddenly came to his mind.

_Wait… fucking wait…_

"Wait, this doesn’t make any sense, Goro! Why didn't they experiment on me when the fucking biochip was in my head and my life didn't matter anymore? Wouldn’t it have been easier if they sedated me and did to me whatever they wanted?"

_After all, I was just a puppet for them, too. Why the hell did they operate the chip out of my head when there was the perfect opportunity to experiment? And even Johnny was willing to cooperate with me?_

Goro finally looked up at him this time. The man's eyes were already glistening faintly from the alcohol, but that silver gaze was still quite sober as he stared at him. In addition to the gloom and darkness, his features have now finally softened a little bit.

"Maybe the Arasaka family is cruel, but even they have enough decency to keep their promise. Also… Saburo-sama knew we had been working together for the last couple of weeks."

Goro smiled faintly, but V didn't really understand what he was talking about.

"And? Why would that stop that old bastard?"

To V's greatest surprise, Goro laughed softly at his question, but this time it sounded as if he wasn't laughing at V, but at himself. Again, he fixed his gaze quite deeply at V, and by that, something strangely tensed in V's chest and an unknown sensation began to flow through his stomach.

"Saburo-sama knew I would never let them lock up and experiment on the man who saved my life. Who became a true friend of mine."

"Goro…"

V suddenly did not find the words, he was so shocked. He even forgot about his anger and outrage at that moment, his eyes widened with his mouth open. Usually, he had a sarcastic remark, a quick, mocking little comment that could save him from his embarrassment, but now he just looked with widely open eyes at the man sitting in front of him, the man who went through so much with him together and who now looked at him so… V couldn’t even put into words how he looked at him at that moment.

"I know it doesn't mean the same for you as for me, because you have several loyal friends who would have done the same for you," he smiled, his silver-white eyes gleaming gently. "But for me, no one would have come back to certain death. But you did."

The man lowered his eyes and this time he twisted the sake glass in his hand with a slight embarrassment. Ever since they got to know each other, V hadn't seen him so open and vulnerable, but now he'd lowered all his defenses. Maybe the alcohol had an effect on him as well, he couldn’t have known. All he knew that the man now honestly opened up before him and called him his “true friend”. And he said no one but him would have saved him from death’s grip.

"Come on, we're quits now," V began with a heated face as he sank down on the couch, close to Goro. His voice also sounded quite embarrassed. "Have you forgotten who took me out of the trash and finished Dex? Saving each other’s lives is only natural. It doesn’t worth mention it at all."

V laughed like an idiot and gabbled like he had a speech impairment. He had no idea why he had to make that comment. He didn’t consider saving each other’s lives “doesn’t worth mentioning” at all, but of course, he managed to open his big mouth again before thinking. Beside him, the softness and warmth of Goro's face suddenly disappeared.

V watched with a shrinking stomach as disappointment passed through the older man's features. Although he hid his emotions quite well, V had already known him that much that he could see that Goro didn't quite expect that from him. Again.

"So when you came back for me you only wanted to settle the bill?" Goro asked in an emotionless voice as he scratched the sticker on the glass with one finger. "To be just _quits_?"

_Fuck._

V could tell that he hurt the man’s feelings, and damn, he didn't want to do that at all! Goro misunderstood all this! _Fuck it, why am I so damn bad in emotions? Why can't I act like a normal person?_

V sighed then gathered all his courage and pulled closer to the man on the couch. He didn’t exactly know why, but eventually he reached out and gently clasped his fingers on Goro's hand. The man's skin felt surprisingly soft and rough at the same time.

"No," he began in a trembling voice. "I went back for you because I like you, you idiot," he said with the air trapped in his lungs, feeling his heart pounding in his throat. But there was no going back. Goro raised those silver eyes again, and this time some strange hope returned to his gaze. Or happiness? V bit his lower lip.  
"I knew from the first moment that you were a good person. But after we had a heart-to-heart on that rooftop and chatted about take-out food and bakenekos as if it were the most natural thing in the world… after that I also considered you as a true friend. Fuck, now I would even miss those stupid Japanese proverbs on my phone."

V's fingers were still resting on the man's hand, and Goro didn’t do anything to change that. Instead, he just smiled broadly, then shot a quite sparkling grin at V.

"I would miss it too if I couldn't send them to you. My colleagues haven’t really appreciated my humor so far."

"Dickheads. Japanese sayings are the best. But maybe I shouldn’t have to admit it now…"

Goro's smile became even warmer and more sparkling, then he finally freed his hand from V's grip, but only to gently touch the young man's face with his palm. The movement was delicate and tender — too tender, as was the whole man — V was not accustomed to so much softness and kindness at all. He automatically relaxed into Goro's gentle touch, letting the other caress his face, then locked his own palm on the man's hand again.

They just sat like this for a moment, looking deeply into each other's eyes, then it was Goro who realized first what they were doing — of course, the honest and gentleman Goro. Clearing his throat, he turned away from him, and when V was about to pull him back by his arm, the man spoke in a deep voice.

"The Arasaka won't let me go just like this. Even if Saburo-sama doesn’t do anything personally, it is clear that Hanako-sama will send more assassins for me to protect the family. I know too much." Goro began to look at the floor and shook his head again with a tormented sigh. He looked up at V in desperation.  
"I shouldn't be here, V. You don't have to get involved in this, it's not your fight anymore. I don't want to get you in trouble."

V thought he was hearing badly. After all this, the man thinks he’ll just leave it? That they finish their sake and then just part ways again? As if nothing had happened? As if their little confession a few moments ago hadn't even happened?

_Or this is how he wants to give me a choice? Jesus, Goro, you should know me by now…_

"You're kidding, aren't you? If all of this is true… I will not leave you alone in this shit, Goro, this is not even a question. And fuck, I have to help Silverhand anyway, isn't that clear? He has to be scratched out of the Arasaka tower somehow, even if his life is on a fucking chip." V started to laugh at his own fervency, that he was just planning out loud that he wanted to run down that damn company again.  
"Damn, now I am speaking just like him, aren’t I? They can’t just get away with it. Fucking corporate bastards, now it was enough, once and for all."

Goro continued to smile beside him, his features mixed with some tired joy. Maybe he didn’t really expect any other reaction from V, even if he tried to fool himself that his friend would decide otherwise.

"I can't talk you out of it anymore, can I?"

"Of course you can’t. You screwed this up the moment you sent me a message tonight. But anyway, you're a liar, too, Goro. You say you're not going to offer me a job, and here we are!"

Laughing with a scolding face, V took the sake out of the man's hand and knocked the alcohol back. He felt such excitement that he hadn't felt in weeks. Although he received various merc assignments from his clients, and despite all his bitterness, his reputation was greater in Night City than ever before, something was still missing. He missed a true fight, he missed a real goal, he missed a _companion_ next to him. At first, he thought it was a horrible nightmare to run amok with Silverhand, but he felt most in his element when they fought against Yorinobu's mercs with Goro, when they planned the pay-off together, when they cut down their enemies side by side and Goro laughed insanely and shouted some Japanese nonsense…

V now saw the same fire in the man's eyes as he felt in his own chest. Maybe he was thinking about the same thing.

"I only dared to hope that you might join me," Goro finally confessed, smiling a little remorsefully as he took over the sake. For a moment he just looked at the mouth of the bottle that V had lifted to his lips a few seconds ago. The man's face softened a bit.

"I have to admit it wouldn't feel right to fight the Arasaka alone. I’m used to having someone similarly experienced next to me who can use the katana and I could entrust my life to." Goro turned his gaze to the sword against the wall, to V's favorite weapon. The young man couldn't stop himself from grinning beside him with his mouth almost reaching his ears. _Well, we were really thinking about the same thing. He also misses cut down our enemies together like some samurai._

"But on the other hand," Goro's voice suddenly grew a little serious and deep again. "V, I have a feeling that if we get Silverhand’s chip, maybe not only we can sabotage the experiments but we might save your life."

V was speechless again, his chin dropped and he stared at the man incomprehensibly, but Goro didn't give him a chance to voice his doubts. He continued only with determination in his eyes.

"They were not honest with you at the space station, they lied about that chip. If it is really possible for two minds to coexist without one suppressing the other… perhaps your talented ripperdoc friend could try the surgery again. Or someone else. This time, the chip could heal the wounds and hold your mind together. As it held together when you were shot by that bullet."

"And again, a bastard rockstar would comment and criticize my every move, for the rest of my life? After all, it is tolerable. I sometimes even miss that my conscience is not speaking to me in an asshole style."

V nodded sarcastically as he spoke. Although hope flowed through Goro's voice, his idea bled from several wounds. The chip saved his life at first, that’s true, but then it tried to flatline his brain, and so far, no one has been able to reverse the process. Moreover, if the neuro-surgeons of Arasaka have not yet figured out how two minds can live together in one body, how would Viktor succeed? When he has already tried a million times?

_Maybe Alt… maybe Alt would know the solution to that. If Johnny and I could find her this time, she might be able to help us. Well, if Johnny was willing to spend the rest of his life in my head._

V's hand locked on the ID tags again. Somehow, he felt that Johnny would say yes in the end. V currently wasn’t in the most pleasant relationship with the rockstar — well, their last argument before the split up was pretty ugly — but the man basically liked him and cared about him deeply. V knew this well, he had seen the thoughts of the man for long weeks, just as Johnny could see his own thoughts. He knew that Johnny, in spite of all his hard-spoken, rude remarks, did not hate him at all.

_And maybe he would finally come to like Goro if he found out he turned against Arasaka. He would see how valuable and good a man he is._

V smiled, then looked at the man sitting next to him.

_It's not like he has a choice._

Goro smiled back at him, and this time he was the one who held out his arm and suddenly took V's hand. The young man – just like him a few minutes ago – didn't pull his fingers away.

"We've made a few bad decisions so far, V. We both did,” he sighed as his palms warmed V's hands. "But this decision wouldn’t be one of them.” Goro suddenly raised V's hand, then wrapped both of his palms around the younger man's fingers. It looked like he was about to make a promise to him.  
"And now, it’s my turn to save your life. This mission is not over yet, I have not given up on it yet."

Goro softly caressed V's fingers as the young man smoothed his other hand into Goro’s hair. A couple of unruly strands hung in his face, and V gently put them behind his ears. He really liked Goro wearing his hair combed back, so nothing covered even the tiniest part of his face. It would have been a shame to cover it up.

"And then what's next, Goro?" V asked amusedly, staring at the man's handsome, masculine features. "Shall we continue to live our lives of hiding, do the shittiest jobs after each other, sometimes cut down some Arasaka bootlickers until we burn out? Then we retire and watch Japanese cooking shows on TV?"

He wanted the question to sound mocking and challenging, but in the end it didn’t sound so bad at all. _After all, these cooking shows aren’t that awful. Perhaps even Goro could learn something new._

Goro laughed beside him, still as kindly and softly as ever. Laugh lines stretched across the edge of his silvery-white eyes.

"Maybe," he nodded in agreement, then the cunning smile returned to his face. "But first I will finally invite you to a real Japanese restaurant and show you what a real yakitori is like."

V's grin almost reached his ear again.

"Hah, are we just going to eat? Without any ulterior motive?"

"There is always an ulterior motive, V."

Goro didn't let V make any sarcastic comeback this time. Suddenly he leaned closer, then gently touched their lips together and kissed the words away from the young man’s tongue.

The kiss tasted like sake, and _hope_ and _future_ , a special and sweet combination that only Goro Takemura could give him. With a smile he leaned into the man's closeness, then wrapped his arms around the nape of his neck in pleasure, ruffling up the unruly strands of his hair he had put behind his ears moments earlier. Maybe he wanted to see Goro with his hair uncombed after all.

In return, Goro kissed soft truths on his cheek, face, and neck. V felt that finally - really - something had fallen into place in his life.

Maybe so far they’ve both been on the Devil’s path, maybe they’ve both made the worst possible decisions while trying to become better persons. Maybe they let themselves and each other down in the endless fights, but that’s the end of it now.

V grinned.

_Johnny Fucking Silverhand, get ready._

_We finally cut down the fucking Devil and burn the city the way you always wanted. Because that's the path of the fucking samurai._

V looked up at his katana and then back to Goro. He kissed the man’s collarbone fiercely as he pulled the ribbon out of his hair and yanked him down on the couch. Goro followed him without question.

He would have followed him anywhere.  
  


_This is our path._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much for reading! ^.^ This was originally written in my native language (Hungarian) then I translated it into English. Hopefully it didn't feel totally off, I am sorry if there were some strange phrasings or grammar mistakes. Fun fact: in my language there are informal and formal personal pronouns (similar to the German du/ Sie), and in Hungarian Goro and V use the formal pronouns all the time when they are addressing each other (not just in my fic but in the game as well). When V asked him to "stop being so polite", he originally meant to stop using the formal addressing and be informal already. ;) In English I couldn't really emphasize this but I hope it was still fun to read that part. Feedbacks are very welcomed, please feel free to share your thoughts with me! :-*  
> ~ Nasu


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